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Violence Comes Uncomfortably Close to a Gay Shelter

For the people who live at a residence for gay and transgender youth in Astoria, Queens, the cramped four-room apartment they share is a congenial harbor, a place where they do not have to worry about the prejudices and dangers they often face on the streets.

Last Monday night those dangers arrived on their doorstep when a group of young people confronted the residents outside their home. Insults were exchanged and punches were thrown. No serious injuries resulted, but four teenagers were arrested and charged with using improvised weapons to attack an Episcopal priest who runs the shelter, which is called Carmen’s Place.

In the end, the confrontation could have been much worse, but the half-dozen or so residents of the shelter, who are in their late teens to mid-20s, said they were still alarmed.

“This is a safe haven for the kids,” said Michael Dropp, the president of the group’s board. “That’s why the things that happened Monday night are really a shame.”

That conflict began when the Rev. Louis Braxton Jr., who runs the shelter, witnessed teenagers striking a resident in the head with a bag of garbage. Moments later, Father Braxton said, the teenagers turned on him, striking him with an empty paint can, swinging metal shelf brackets at him and finally breaking a wooden miter box against his head. He was treated for minor injuries.

The police arrested four teenagers and charged them with assault, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment. Witnesses said that the teenagers shouted anti-gay slurs. The police were investigating whether the attack was motivated by bias. In the past few days, advocates and elected officials have condemned the attack.

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Cherry Snodgrass, left, and Chloe Elsworth are among the residents at Carmen's Place.Credit
Ruby Washington/The New York Times

A spokeswoman for the Legal Aid Society, which is representing one of the defendants, said the agency was looking into what happened.

Father Braxton said that he had called the police twice before for minor incidents, but that he had never experienced a conflict as serious as the one last week. Some Astoria residents who had heard about the attack expressed sympathy for the residents. Many others said that they had no idea that the residence existed.

Carmen’s Place opened in 2005 as part of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Astoria, after Father Braxton allowed teenagers who had been living on neighborhood rooftops to sleep in the church basement.

After the church closed in 2007 because of financial difficulties, Father Braxton decided to continue the mission by renting a second-floor apartment on Steinway Street in Astoria, in the midst of a busy commercial strip.

There, anywhere from six to eight youths sleep in bunk beds and store their few possessions in metal lockers. There is always an adult chaperon on the premises. Carmen’s Place is the only residence in Queens for gay and transgender youths, and residents come from as far away as California and Hawaii.

Life is not always easy for Father Braxton’s flock. There are manipulative boyfriends to deal with and unfamiliar men who form odd obsessions after seeing residents on the streets. They are tempted by nighttime boulevards and alleys where sex can be sold as easily as cigarettes, Father Braxton said, and by an inclination to mistake the lust of strangers for romantic love. There is also harassment, running the gamut from nasty looks to rude words, or worse.

“I’ve been spit on,” said Cherry Snodgrass, a 20-year-old gay man from Oklahoma who lives at Carmen’s Place. “I’ve been hit.”

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The Rev. Louis Braxton Jr.was attacked last week outside Carmens Place, a shelter he runs in Astoria, Queens.Credit
Ruby Washington/The New York Times

Some of residents battle depression or other disorders and take medication to stay on an even keel. Others have been ejected from similar shelters in Manhattan after behaving disruptively. For many of those who show up there, Carmen’s Place is a refuge of last resort, Father Braxton said.

Supervising the youths and trying to steer them toward productive paths can sometimes be difficult for Father Braxton, who said that he had served at parishes in Rye, N.Y., and Teaneck, N.J., before taking on the duties at St. Andrew’s. He said he was motivated by the urgency of trying to help people in need.

“The Gospel calls on us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked,” he said.

Fulfilling that charge is arduous. The residence relies on private donations and the largess of food pantries. Each week is a struggle to make ends meet, Father Braxton said.

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One resident, Chloe Elsworth, 25, described coming to New York 18 months ago from Orange County, Calif., hoping to design clothes, but instead being kicked out of a Manhattan shelter and sleeping on the No. 2 train before being taken in at Carmen’s Place.

Ms. Elsworth said she was rattled when she saw Father Braxton being attacked.

“I was scared for him,” she said. “Seeing a man of the cloth being beat down like that was brutal.”

Father Braxton said he was planning to move to a bigger place with more security, provided he could raise the necessary money. He added that he had already chosen a spot — in the same neighborhood.

“Astoria people tend to mind their own business,” he said. “It tends to be a live-and-let-live kind of place.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B2 of the New York edition with the headline: Violence Comes Uncomfortably Close to a Gay Shelter. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe